Modern marketing is heavily dependent on customer data. Much of what was once measured by outside market research groups can now be found and analyzed internally by organizations through tools and platforms such as marketing automation, Google Analytics, social media, CRM and ERP. Today, marketers have more insights into how customers are behaving in relationship to their brand. Without question, the key to marketing success in 2015 and beyond is data driven marketing.
While data may be at our fingertips, it’s not always easy to determine what it means or how it may impact current marketing strategy. In fact, the major issue most marketers deal with is too much data. With the overwhelming amount of data marketers have available to them, also comes the challenge of separating good data from bad data. Not all data is created equal, and marketers need to be able to separate the two.
Instead of focusing on the copious quantities of data and getting lost in it, start by determining the end goal: What is it that you want to achieve?
According to Forrester Research, the right data can identify customer preference and uncover unmet customer needs. For example, a clothing retailer used behavioral and location data to learn that young women, between 13 and 24 years old, window shopped at their stores only to purchase cheaper alternatives elsewhere. This caused the retailer to create a low-cost line of apparel targeted to these customers.
But data isn’t reserved for acquiring new customers. In fact, marketers can use data to improve customer relationships. Consider mobile applications for businesses in the travel, banking, and insurance industries. These three industries have been historically stressful to deal with in the past; but now, through technology, have been able to provide a better customer experience. For example, the Fly Delta App from Delta Airlines keeps their passengers connected and “on course” during their travels so they don’t miss a gate change or can plan in advance for a delay. Chase Mobile from Chase Bank provides easy banking with the ability to deposit checks anytime, anywhere – alleviating a major frustration for banking customers who can’t get to the bank until after work and the doors are locked.
Lifecycle marketing data provides an even more in-depth look into customer behavior and profile attributes by connecting ERP, CRM, and marketing automation data in one place. With this insight, marketers can see who is buying what, and their demographic and firmographic (for B2B organizations) data to quickly create nurturing campaigns to improve customer satisfaction and encourage upsells and even cross-selling across divisions or brand lines.
To learn how lifecycle marketing can improve data driven marketing for your organization, download the ebook Lifecycle Marketing 101.
